As of right now, I'm living in Hot as Hell Florida and I've had it with the heat and the 2 weeks of Winter where it gets cold enough to put a jacket on. I was considering northern states but I can't commit. I'm wanting to move there either for or after Graduate School. I'm just posting this because I'm curious about if it's a good state to live, is it expensive to live, etc. Any information helps!!
Thanks!

Just to be clear, the other comments are about the "wet" side of the state. Most of eastern WA has 4 distinct, beautiful seasons. Fall and spring are amazing and moderate. Winter can be brutal or relatively mild. Summer temps can reach high 90s for a few weeks but we don't have the suffocating humidity of the east coast (I'm from New England and lived in FL for 1 miserable year). Easy access to mountains, rivers, lakes, Canada, Montana, etc. Affordable to live, esp compared to the west side. I love eastern WA!

Oh, what we don't have is tons of museums or theater. Spokane gets some big stage shows & bands through, but not on the scale that Seattle / Tacoma does. Art is abundant, just have to seek it out.

I think we might also have the most diverse climates of any state, but anybody who does any amount of actual research could prove me wrong. But with the rainforest, mountains, arid central region, agricultural areas, etc, it's pretty much awesome.

Yeah with Florida, the only climate is hot as fuck! Plus I want actual seasons, not 11 months of hot and 1 month of jacket weather. Everyone is just making it sound better and better and now time is going to go by so slow because I'm anticipating the move!

To further expound on the east/west generalities of the state's weather - there are numerous sub-climates within as well.

For example, suggesting anything west is "wet" is downright bogus. While on average, it's certainly true compared to east - there are spots that sit in rain shadows. Take Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula - it averages almost half the rainfall compared to where I came from in Northern CA. And yet, as you head west along the Peninsula from Sequim to the coast, annual rainfall picks up dramatically. The very rough rule of thumb is, you pick up 1" of rain per year for every mile you head west of Sequim until you hit the coast, where it's a veritable rain forrest with 100+ inches a year being common.

Likewise, you can't depend on precipitation amounts to tell the whole story. Where I live, we get roughly 33-35" a year. However, it tends to be more concentrated when it rains, and falls at night more often than daytime. I'll take this over the extended gloom of misty grey that makes up the rainfall numbers in many areas of the state.

The main constant you can count on state-wide, compared to where you live now - it will be colder in the winter than you are used to.

That award usually goes to Hawaii's Big Island, which has all that in addition to its tropical climates, but over very limited areas. What Washington has, it has a lot more of, and there's more of it that's exceptional in beauty.

Climate diversity is pretty much true for all the western states. Washington, Oregon and California are dry east of the rain guzzling Cascades/Sierras. I believe parts of Florida actually have more rain than Washington, it's days of overcast that we excel in. The Nov - Feb is the four month period with it's low light levels coupled with overcast and temps in the 50's or below affect natives and transplants alike. However in the spring, people seem to come out ready to celebrate, I have never seen a greener city in the spring or summer, Seafair is in full swing, there are music festivals such as Bumbershoot and Folklife, the local mountains trails (Mt. Si, Rattlesnake Ridge, Snow Lake etc etc) are pretty much a human highway. As far as cost go, all western cities tend to be on the expensive side but if you are in a tech profession your salary will more than compensate for the higher living costs. I suggest you evaluate what your skills will earn here vs your expected expenses. I moved to Washington more than two decades ago and love it here.

One only has 80 +/-20 years on this earth. If a place pulls your heart strings, go. That's how I felt and haven't looked back. Do you want to live in a city, suburb, or farm? If you want to live with rain, western Washington along the I 5 corridor is the only way to go. East of there is desert.

I'm looking for more of a city environment because there's a lot to do but I also like the outdoors. Washington just seems to have everything where as Sarasota is flat, boring, and "has the number one beach" which is boring if you hate the heat lol

Saying all of Eastern Washington is a huge overstatement. Northeast Washington has great recreational areas and is super secluded from civilization. Lots of forests and lakes. Southeast Washington has rolling hills of wheat, but unfortunately has very few large cities.

I am a 2nd generation Florida native and I moved to Washington two years ago. It was the BEST decision I've ever made. I also was sick of the heat and I love the weather here (even the rain) our summers are amazing and totally worth the 4 straight months of rain and cold. When we moved we drove here, I'd love to assist you with any questions about that process because we had it planned out really well. Also, I recently started working in downtown Tacoma right next to the UW campus and I must say it is really cool. I love working down there because it's a pretty area and there is lots of stuff to do (look up Dorky's barcade it's awesome!) I'd suggest school and work in Tacoma but I'm not super impressed with the living situations down there. I live near Puyallup which is a really nice area. PM me if you'd like to ask about anything and good luck with the move!

People are really nice here. It's practically the south of the north. They try to tell you otherwise here, but that has not been my experience so far.

Don't let your pride stop you from taking jobs to get by on and you'll always have work. There are all sorts of manufacturing jobs available here. You can always work in manufacturing or production until what you really want becomes available.

If you are planning to work in the food industry when you get here, get a food handlers card before you start looking for jobs, there are also certifications you need before you can serve alcohol as well. So look into that, or see if there is some special certification you need to do what you want before hand.

Yeah, it rains a lot on the west side, but it's not like rain in the south. Most of the time you can walk around in it for an hour and not even feel wet.

People talk about lightning storms up here like they are the scariest thing ever.

Most places don't have air conditioning, because they don't need it.

If for some reason it makes it up to 90 degrees, the wind will still be cool. You might be unfamiliar with the effects of a "cool breeze", but even on a 90 degree day you can still cool you house down by opening the windows.

It is absolutely beautiful here. Seriously.

they don't tax some stuff here, as far as I can tell if it's healthy or not already prepared to eat its tax free. they also don't take out any state taxes from your check.

Come here and try it out for a year, if you don't like it you can move back. If you do like it you're already a year closer to in state tuition which you'll need because schools here are a little more expensive. I think you'll like it though.

See, I mean people of the South, in my opinion in at least Florida, are down right terrible people. They are rude as all hell and think their shit doesn't stink. I'm just reading everything everyone has to say and I've been discussing it with my boyfriend and everything and it's like a 90% chance that I do end up moving up there. My first priority is to visit.

Washington has some very good schooling, as the most educated state in the country. Seattle is a fairly expensive city to live in, but some of the suburbs of Seattle have decent costs of living. Tacoma, about 30-45 minutes south of Seattle (With no traffic and depending on where in the city you live) is fairly inexpensive in comparison and provides a fair amount to do and lots of good food.

Put that aside, if you like the outdoors, the Seattle area is the best thing you could do. Mountains, lakes, rivers, ocean, etc. Amazing camping and some of the best hiking that anything in the lower 48 will offer you.

I live in southwest Washington, right on the border of Oregon and Washington. I love the area. Beautiful hills around the city (Portland), tons of stuff to do, and rent is cheaper in the Portland area than up north in Seattle, at least for the most part.

We've also got plenty of great schools, depending on what you'd like to go to grad school for.

I'm looking to go for Pharmacy school but I'm just looking for any school that's better than the University of Florida's program there but I'm miserable in Florida so I don't mind going to any Pharmacy school really.

I've lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Utah, and now here in Washington (in Tacoma). WA is cheaper than New England but more expensive than Utah. It doesn't get super cold or super hot; it's rarely below 30 in the winter or above 80 in the summer. And with low humidity, too! Thunderstorms are pretty rare too but you can expect a light rain or misting pretty much every day in the fall, winter, and spring. I enjoy it very much.

Also see the sidebar here and in /r/Seattle for more info about moving to Washington.

See that's exactly what I'm looking for! I love the rain but I don't like the rain when it rains for 2 minutes, everywhere gets soaked, then the stupid ass sun is all like, "I'm here to fuck shit up and make things humid as fuck!" Thanks for the reply!

The cost of living is somewhat higher than the national average on the western side of the state. Because of the Cascades the weather is very different between Eastern and Western Washington. You have to be mentally prepared for the winter. Imagine slate grey skies and rain 200 days out of the year.

Yeah I'm looking for that kind of weather because I absolutely hate the heat. I love when it's raining and all that but not when it rains and the sun comes out to make everything humid as hell. I appreciate the reply! Thanks!

Temperatures on the East side are a bit more extreme. Lots of snow in the winter and gets below freezing and sometimes in the mid 90s during summer. The cost of living is also pretty cheap, especially for electricity. The west side is more exciting though.

I spent the last four years in Seattle. Although I was tired of the city life, I absolutely love Washington. The west side and east side both have a lot to offer. If you hate the heat like I do, I suggest western Washington. I definitely prefer the weather on the west side. Now I'm temporarily back in shitty southern California, but I can't wait till next summer to get back up north permanently.